


Look At This Photograph

by Yodawgiherd



Category: Persona 4, Persona Series
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Memories, Post-Canon, Romance, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:29:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25093147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yodawgiherd/pseuds/Yodawgiherd
Summary: Waking up in the middle of the night, Yu pulls out an old photograph.And thinks back on when it was taken.Post-Canon (the day when the Epilogue takes place and later)
Relationships: Marie/Narukami Yu, Marie/Persona 4 Protagonist, Marie/Seta Souji
Kudos: 34





	Look At This Photograph

**Author's Note:**

> I just finished Persona 4 Golden on steam and holy shit that game is amazing.  
> As Marie is criminally underrated, I felt that it was my duty to contribute at least something to this rare-pair fandom.  
> Hope you enjoy this little drabble.  
> :)

The photograph was old and wrinkled, marked by uncountable folding and unfolding, there was even a tiny coffee stain in the bottom left corner. Smoothing his thumb over the aged thing, Yu did his best to straighten some of the kinks out before gazing at the faces of the group captured on the photo. He knew them. Each and every single one was imprinted deep in his heart, forming a genuine bond that would never be broken. Distance, age, those things simply did not matter. Not with these guys.

Yu had no idea what came over him, what woke him in the middle of the night and directed his hands to the wallet, pulling out this time-stained piece, carefully folded and neatly tucked behind the ID card. As always, memories came flooding in, reminding him of that time when the photo was taken, back when he returned to Inaba after staying in the city for a while.

The “surprise” party did not surprise Yu in the slightest. What got his heart pounding instead was seeing Marie on the TV, casually predicting, or more like planning, the weather. After seeing her disappear as she did, a part of Yu believed that he will never see her again. Sure, she did say that she would always be with him, but that felt like a farewell back then. She was a goddess, and you did not see deities in your day-to-day life. Yet here she was, putting the rows of suns next to the rain symbol, claiming that the next days will be warm and beautiful. And if Yu believed Nanako, “Mariko” was always right.

If seeing Marie on TV, alive and well, was not enough, the short personal message she dropped at the end was surely more than he ever expected. She said that she loved him, with an adorable smile on her face, dropped that bomb right into his lap with no preparation. The statement did much more than just leaving him staring at the screen. Rise exploded with arguments, Yosuke and Teddie bolted from their seats, Chie and Yukiko exchanged a bewildered look. Naoto, on her part, just chuckled, most likely not missing the subtle signals Yu and Marie sent each other’s way before the whole Izanami business. Kanji stared for a second before his eyes slid down to the tiny detective, making him swallow and look away with a faint blush. It would appear that his crush was still going strong. It was Dojima who spoke through all the ruckus, chuckling when he realized what name Marie said.

“Wait, that was your name. If only you were so lucky, huh?”

He laughed heartily after, but no one joined in. Not even Nanako.

But while his friends fell into a lively discussion about what just happened, Yu’s brain was working in overcharge. What did Marie mean by that? The logical part argued that it could have been just a small show of affection, nothing serious. They shared a few hugs, a kiss and chocolate on Valentine’s day, but that was about it. Summed together, it did not seem significant compared to the catastrophic events that happened all around them. The fog, Adachi, the fight with a literal goddess with a taste for destruction. After Marie’s “ascension” they haven’t seen each other for months and this is what she does to him the second he’s back in Inaba. On his first day. Letting out a long exhale, Yu scratched the back of his neck. Was the word Love really that important? Rise showered him with the same l-word multiple times per day, but those were just innocent remarks that Yu grew to enjoy. Was Marie’s case the same? Maybe she picked it up from Rise. Maybe she didn’t mean anything by it. Maybe she…

He needed a damn break. 

Yosuke was the first one who noticed his silence, and in his typical Yosuke-fashion suggested that he should go and see Marie himself. Despite his weak protests, Yu was basically thrown out of the house and sent on his way, all this happening with Dojima scratching his chin, completely missing the point of what was happening in front of him. When Kanji suggested that they all go see her, he was gently held back by Naoto.

“I think that Senpai needs some time with her alone.”, the detective said.

Kanji’s “But why?” was the last thing Yu heard before the door closed.

Even now, years later, he still remembered how hard his heart pounded when he walked. It occurred to him that he didn’t even know where Marie is, but somehow this path he took felt right as if the city itself was guiding him. In a way, it probably was.

Yu couldn’t say that he was surprised when that feeling led him to the hill where he and Marie first gazed at the city. It was there where he hugged her for the first time, feeling her stiffen before she relaxed, giving in to the mutual attraction. And now, she was standing in that same place, looking over Inaba, a goddess of the land. Same, but different. Her punk clothes were gone, replaced by a sharp black business suit. The insecurity was gone from her stance. Marie was her own woman now, not chained or bound by anything, and Yu could see it from the first glance. Did that also mean that she had no intention of staying with him? Binding herself to his fate? Now that was a question only one person could answer.

She turned to face him as he closed the distance, gravel crunching beneath his boots. Stopping at a respectable distance, Yu swallowed, eyes flying over the young woman, taking her in. He had to admit that she looked good, the silent confidence suited her. Looking up, he met her gaze, noting the glasses. Unsure how to break the silence that settled over them, Yu reached up to tap his own nose, willing his hand not to shake.

“Didn’t realize that you needed those.”, he said, voice just a little bit squeaky.

Only in retrospect did he realize that he didn’t even greet her. Nice moves, Yu. Marie blinked in surprise upon hearing that, probably not expecting that to be the first words he would say to her after such a long time. Then again, she was the one who declared her love on a public Tv.

“Oh, my vision is fine.”, to prove her point, she took the glasses off, folding them and making them disappear into her breast pocket, “These just make me look more sophisticated.”

“Right…”, Yu replied, nodding.

And the silence was back.

Because what the hell was he supposed to say? Hey Marie, when you said that you loved me, did u mean it for real or was that just an elaborate joke? Or…

Damnit, but this was awkward.

In the end, it was Margaret’s words that made him move. It was her who said that actions speak louder than words, and sometimes just diving in head-first is the only thing one can do. So Yu did just that. He dived.

With two steps, he crossed over to Marie, taking in that arch of her eyebrow and surprised gasp when he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a tight hug. Almost immediately, her arms encircled his torso and she hugged him back, proving Margaret’s theory. This felt good. But just as he held her, the worm in the back of Yu’s mind came back to life, prodding at him.

Friends hug too, you know.

Well then.

Pulling back just a fraction, Yu gazed down at her, trying his hardest to piece together a sentence. But he just couldn’t. Marie looked up at him, all flushed and with hair ruffled by the wild hug, and not even a goddess had the right to look this cute. There were no words that would fit this moment. Only action.

Yu couldn’t say who moved first, but he dipped down and Marie pushed herself up and they ended up colliding in the middle. The kiss was a bit airy and frantic, but that didn’t matter. She tasted even better than Yu remembered, like summer and sun and everything good. Marie was also much more active now than during their first smooch on Valentine’s. Swiping her tongue over his bottom lip, she angled her head to deepen the kiss, sending waves of warmth through Yu’s whole body. But while she seemed content to just keep at this forever, he, the poor human, still needed to breathe, so breaking that wonderful lip contact Yu pulled back, feeling incredibly light-headed.

“I love you so much…”, she confessed again, voice heated, and this time, with Marie in his arms, Yu knew exactly what she meant.

Then again…

“I know, I watched the news.”, he teased, watching her cheeks turn into that pretty shade of red.

Hiding from his eyes by burying her face into his chest, Marie let out that customary chain of words where “Jerk” and “Ihateyou” were prominent.

“Hey,”, reaching down and gently grabbing her chin, Yu made her look up, making sure that she understood his next words.

“I love you too.”, he said back, that massive weight on his heart disappearing like that damn fog.

Deciding that there had been enough words, Marie sealed the exchange with another kiss and that was it. For whatever reason, the sun was incredibly bright that day. Later, when their friends found the couple on that sun-soaked hill, they took the photo that Yu was holding in his hands, immortalizing that incredible day.

There was a yawn behind him followed by a sound of rustling sheets. A pale-skinned hand reached out, fingers scratching the bed where he normally was, and upon finding nothing a noise of protest came out. Taking it as a sign that there was enough reminiscing for one night, Yu carefully folded the photo and tucked it back into his wallet before returning to the bed properly. When the hand located him, it secured itself on his shoulder and pulled, sliding the body it belonged to into view. For a god, Marie had an unhealthy habit of stealing Yu’s shirts. Tonight was no exception. The oversized piece hung on her, exposing one shoulder and reaching down to about half of her butt. In short, it was both sexy and adorable, and Yu would never in his life try to stop her from wearing them. Then again, even if he did, Marie would probably just ignore him and carry on with her crime spree.

After properly relocating herself to lie on top of him, she yawned, blinking up with sleepy eyes.

“Why are you awake?”, she asked, “Something wrong?”

With her in his arms? Hell no.

“Just memories.”

“Memories… that’s good. Memories are good.”

The fingers on his shoulder dipped further, her fingertips gently tracing the scratches Yu had on his back. Some healed, some still fresh. Marie should know, after all, it was she who marked him like this. Yu left his own touch on her, and not just with his hands. Creating a myriad of love bites on her otherwise perfect skin was always fun. She would curse him for that in the morning, complaining about how much make-up she must put on to hide those that were visible from the cameras. She was lucky that her clothes hid the rest, as both Yu and Marie were quite possessive in the heat of passion. Yet she never asked him to stop.

“Some better than others.”, she concluded her speech, closing her eyes and lying back down.

And while Yu would be perfectly fine if she left it there, Marie spoke up again. After all, memories were a touchy subject for her.

“Wanna talk about it?”, she asked.

But Yu had everything he needed. Right here.

“I’m fine.” He calmed her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head, “Go back to sleep.”

“That’s good because this god is tired.”

She cracked an eye on him.

“That is your fault, by the way. Jerk.”

She said that now, but Yu could remember her complaining earlier. The opposite really.

“And I have to be on the TV first thing in the morning. How else would Inaba know what weather to expect.”

Ending her statement, Marie closed her eyes with finality and, somehow finding a comfortable position while being sprawled on top of him, dozed off. On his part, Yu was silently basking in the glory of her statement. Wearing Marie out this much was an achievement, as she was unnaturally energetic. Blame it on the goddess part.

Then again, Yu wouldn’t have it any other way.

Having old memories was well and good, but it was the making of new ones that he looked forward to. Every day was an adventure, and he would make sure to treasure every single moment he got to spend with the people he loved. There were thousands of photographs to create, hundreds of videos, and uncountable moments to forever treasure in his heart. As his mind slowly drifted into sleep, nose buried in Marie’s hair, breathing in that unique scent of nature she had, he couldn’t suppress the smile that spread on his face.

Yu couldn’t wait to live through them all.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm planning on going for Naoto on my NG+ run.  
> Sorry Kanji...


End file.
